Are these new CFL corkscrew lightbulbs supposed to be this bright?

[Jamastiene]

I replaced 2 60 watt light bulbs with the GE CFL corkscrew light bulbs (used 20 watt). This is my first try at replacing some incandescents with fluorescents. Are they supposed to be almost twice as bright? Wow, this light is something else. The rest of the regular light bulbs in the house look like they are putting out yellow light now too. Can I grow plants under this type of light? I have tons of questions. I hope I bought the right kind like Al Gore was talking about. Otherwise, I wasted the money. Right? To be able to do just the one little thing poor people like me can do means a lot to me. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated here. Thanks in advance.

[RufusTFirefly]

1. 20W CFL = 75W incandescent

That would explain the brightness, I would think.

[Jamastiene]

5. Ah, I see now. I mean, I really really see now.

Thank you.

I was wondering about lumens and how to convert between the wattage for incandescents and these bulbs. Is there a chart somewhere where I can go for the equivalent of the 60 watt next month when I plan to change 2 more?

[RufusTFirefly]

10. Link to simple chart

Watt and Lumens: How Much Light?

"If you don't want to print this page out, remember this rule of thumb: CFLs use about a quarter of the wattage to produce the same light. So to replace a traditional 60-watt bulb, look for a CFL that's about 15 watts."

[Jamastiene]

16. Thanks.

I'll be getting the 15 watt bulbs next time then. Like I said, I wasn't 100% sure and wanted to go with the higher equivalency for wattage and just wasn't sure. I'll investigate this link further before next month. Thanks again.

[rodeodance]

2. They are on the 'soft' lights I am used to. Rather glaring-----

[Jamastiene]

8. I like it so far. I'm seriously considering putting on some

sunblock and sunglasses. Wow, this is bright. Maybe I could have gotten by with a 15 watt one instead. I just remember when I was younger and bought a 15 watt bulb only to have it light up maybe a spot the size of a fingernail and not very well at that, but that was 15 years ago.

[matt819]

11. One more thing

Just reading the packages, it seems that each of the wattages also comes in different types of light. So you can buy a 75 watt bulb (the equivalent, really 20 Watts or something around that) with three different types of light - one daylight, one room light, and I can't remember the third. I bought some 75 Watt equivalents for outside my front door, and they are yellow-ish (I can't stand them, but my spouse doesn't like the brighter ones out there). And I bought the 75W equivalents for indoors, and they are the brighter white (my preference).

Anybody have any information on the mercury component in these bulbs and the impact on landfills once these 7-year bulbs start burning out?

And another question - are halogen bulbs better, worse, or the same in comparison to these CFL and incandescent bulbs. I like the bright white light, but they are very hot, and I wonder how much energy is going to producing heat rather than light.

[POAS]

15. Mercury bulbs (all flourescents I think) should be

disposed of through a recycling program. It will take some time for communities to get up to speed on this but many businesses are already disposing of flourescents through special methods and not throwing them in the regular trash as required by the EPA.

Better get on your local governments to provide a safe disposal method as these bulbs will be very common in the very near future.

[Robbien]

3. Nice isn't it?

And while the bulbs are expensive, they last and last and last. So really they are very cheap.

A 20 watt CFL is as bright as one of your old 75 watt bulbs. So if you replaced a old 60 watt with a 20 watt CFL, then you are getting a lot more light.

[Jamastiene]

9. Yes, I'm loving it so far.

It will be nice to save on the power bill and use that money to buy more and eventually replace all my bulbs. That's my plan anyhow. It may take 6 months, because I can't afford to put out a lot of money at once on it, but still will be worth it.

[man4allcats]

4. It's partly the drugs.

It's a little late now, but next time you look at them, go a little easier on the psilocybin mushrooms. Take it from one who knows. They always mess me up. :hippie:

[Jamastiene]

13. Yep, that had to be it.

I had been out of my Zoloft for 2 days. i bought the bulbs at the same time I refilled my prescription. I had to take the meds in the car on the way home. I was floating by the time I got home. I had no idea it would affect me quite that way. :rofl:

[formercia]

6. Growing plants

The wavelengths of light put out by the CFLs are not conducive to growing plants. Perhaps in the future, manufacturers will make some with a phosphor that will emit in the wavelengths that plants prefer, such as the Growlight conventional fluorescent tubes.

I've been told that Sodium Vapor lamps work well.

[NickB79]

20. I grow all my plants under CFL's

In college I used two shop lights, each with two of the older long 40-watt tubes, for growing all my seedlings and houseplants. Currently I have 3 of the 100-watt-equivalent CFL's in fixtures in one corner of my apartment that's designated my "jungle spot", and they work really well. For a year I used the standard warm white bulbs, but recently I've switched to the full-spectrum "sunlight" bulbs that give off more of a bright blue light. I have pothos, dumbcane, dracenea, ZZ plants, rubber trees, spider plants, several cacti, and a prayer plant all doing really well there.

Specialty fluorescent growlights are mainly to induce flowering as well as plant growth, while the standard white shop lights and CFL's will sustain plant growth just fine so long as you aren't growing flowering plants.

[formercia]

21. I think flower buds is the goal

unless you want to smoke stink weed.

..at least that was the implied use in the first place......:evilgrin:

...but then I use a sunny South facing window to start my tomatoes and peppers. Good 'ol Sol. Just the right wavelenths to keep plants happy.

[Critters2]

22. I know several ladies in my church who raise their African violets

under traditional "long" fluorescent lights. Why would the light from the compact ones be any different?

[NickB79]

23. Exactly, as far as I've seen they're the same

A CFL is just a long fluorescent bulb curled up to take up less space.

[EST]

7. Yes, they can be remarkably brilliant, much better, even,

than they were only a few years ago.
Since your incandescent bulbs now seem yellow, it means you have probably installed "cool white" lamps instead of the
"warm" white you may have expected.

They work perfectly well as grow lamps, no matter what apparent color range (in visible light, of course) although some flowering plants are more persnickative about the precise range they need to bloom properly. Some orchids, for example, are very choosy about having a "warm" light to set flowers at all.

I have been using, on a limited basis, these lights ever since they hit the market and, now that the prices have dropped so dramatically, have almost no incandescents around at all.
One of the caveats, however, has to do with turning them on and off. If they have been on for any length of time then turned off, they must remain off long enough to cool down.
There are components in that do-nut-like base that jack up the regular voltage to the high voltage that the mercury needs to stay ionized and conduct electricity.

Those components generally operate at "saturation" and the whole thing is going like hell, working its tutu off, then you kick its legs out from under it by turning off the juice. It takes some time to cool down and relax in order to fire up again and, if you make a habit of switching it back on right away, it is going to get pretty expensive, even though the lamp that used to cost eighteen dollars only costs about three dollars, now.

[Uben]

12. I am replacing all my incandescents

...as they burn out with the CFLs.

[Jamastiene]

14. That sounds like a good plan.

I'm working on it in a more month by month basis for my own personal plan. Your way makes a lot of sense too.

[POAS]

17. I've gat a drawer full of perfectly good

incandescents and I'm wondering what to de with them. They are still good so why throw them out? Guess I could just keep them around for spares when a CFL burns out!

[liberal N proud]

18. We tried them and felt they were too bight

I am hoping they come out with some that the light is not so bight or so white.
I just can't get used to that color of light in my living room.
Hopefully waiting for something to save money and the environment

[MaineYooper]

19. most cfl bulbs come in three or four types

with the color rated on a temperature scale. You probably have one that is rated as "daylight." The temperature can usually be found somewhere on the package, and the range available will of course depend on the store you buy from.

Color temperature                                kelvin      mired
"Warm white" or "Soft white"                   < 2700 K      370 M
"White", "Bright White", or "Medium White"  2900-3000 K  333-345 M
"Cool white"                                     4000 K      250 M
"Daylight"                                     > 5000 K      200 M

this table comes from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp